Various industries, organizations, and technologies are involved in the production, contribution, and distribution of high-quality audio and video content. For example, television presentations of live sporting events are distributed to millions of viewers around the world. Standards and technology related to how the content is formatted and transmitted between the various elements related to production, contribution, and distribution have been developing over the past decades. The standards and technology are designed to accommodate the types of data relevant to audio and video content and particular requirements of the data. For example, there are numerous requirements related to the timing of transmission and reception of signals related to particular content sources, and of transitions between such signals. Various content transmission infrastructures exist. Many such infrastructures utilize serial data transmission.
Technology for transmitting information in packet-based systems and networks has also been developing over the past decades. This is referred to as Information Technology (IT). IT networks have become prevalent in many aspects of modern life. Many IT networks use Internet Protocol (IP) for packet routing and switching. IP-based systems form an IP-based infrastructure for transmitting information.
The Professional Media industry is becoming more interested in using IT networks for transmission of its signals relating to audio and video content. However, due to the nature of signals, and the requirements for handling those signals, implementing some of the capabilities available in IT networks presents challenges.